E420 Sorbitol syrup

E420 SORBITOL OR SORBITOL SYRUP

Sorbitol E420 (a) or sorbitol syrup E420 (b) is a natural compound found in red algae and in many berries and fruits (such as apples, pears, plums, cherries and rowanberries, from which it takes its name).

It can be obtained in the laboratory by reducing glucose with sodium tetrahydroborate, and industrially it can be reduced to high pressures or electrochemically through the hydrogenation process.

Due to its characteristics, sorbitol is widely used in the food industry as a sweetener, stabilizer and raising agent. Its sweetening power is about 60% of that of sucrose; It is also important to point out that sorbitol cannot be used by potentially cariogenic bacteria to support one's metabolism.

Sorbitol can be contained in numerous bakery and pastry products, and not only.

A part of the sorbitol present in our body is absorbed and metabolized as fructose, while the other part is fermented in the large intestine, where the gases produced can cause swelling and flatulence.

Generally, only after the consumption of an excessive quantity of sorbitol can negative side effects occur, excluding those minor that can appear, even in small doses, in people intolerant to sorbitol (gas formation).

ADI DOSE: / a limit to the consumption of this additive is not currently indicated, but despite this it is not recommended its administration to children under the age of 1 year, since it causes serious episodes of diarrhea. After ingestion a test can also be carried out (blowing nine times in a balloon at intervals of about half an hour) to check sorbitol intolerance.